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The House of Representatives today passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R.1), a multi-billion dollar set of spending and tax cut programs to help jumpstart the economy. The legislation now moves to the Senate, were Democratic leaders hope to bring it to a vote this evening. Unfortunately, the legislation includes the Sanders H-1B amendment which saddles TARP fund recipients with strict regulations for hiring foreign workers under the H-1B program that are so cumbersome as to amount to an out-and-out prohibition.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association was highly critical of the Sanders amendment, saying Congress "chose political expediency over sound policy by allowing this amendment to stand." AILA President, Charles H. Kuck, said it sends the misguided signal that "immigrants are part of the problem rather than an integral part of the solution." AILA cited the following two reports to counter the logic of the Sandres amendment, which I thought were worth including here.
The Harvard Business School published a working paper in 2008 entitled "The Supply Side of Innovation: H-1B Visa Reforms and US Ethnic Invention" which garnered some attention this week. The study draws a direct correleation between the increase of U.S. patent filings for new inventions and the increase in the number of H-1B visa admissions.
A March 2008 National Foundation for American Policy report entitled "H-1B Visas and Job Creation" proports that for every H-1B position requested by an S&P 500 U.S. technology company, overall employment at the company increased by five workers. The report also found that among companies in the study sample experiencing layoffs, for every H-1B position requested, total employment was estimated to be two workers more than it otherwise would have been.
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2 comments:
Instead of putting restrictions, congress should have taken the opportunity to scrap the H-1B program.
This program is an abomination on the U.S. workforce and brings back indentured servitude of the worst kind.
With unemployment so high, there is no shortage of qualified, skilled workers ready willing and able for any position reserved for H-1Bs.
Apparently there is a huge shortage of qualified, skilled workers in several areas of the workforce. Particularly in the health care industries. Doctors and nurses, for example are in such short supply in some parts of the United States that no matter how great the incentives are that are being offered, positions in medically underserved areas are not being filled. In many cases, this results in people traveling several hours to receive medical care. The comment about indentured servitude is a good one, however. As I have met many foreign workers who have been taken advantage of by their employers. This is bad for everyone when it happens. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater has never been a wise solution.
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